


One Last Time

by thealphadog



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Childbirth, F/M, Family, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, One Shot, Post: Avengers Endgame, Son Peter Parker, Ten Years Later, Time Travel, Tony Stark Has A Heart, dad tony stark, non-canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-28 06:17:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19806430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thealphadog/pseuds/thealphadog
Summary: Eleven years since Tony Stark died, Peter is about to become a father.All Peter needs is to see his own dad, one last time, before he steps into those shoes.





	One Last Time

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, 
> 
> Let me just say THANK YOU first, because yesterday my ao3 reached 100k hits overall. I can't bloody believe it! Thank you all so much for continuing to support me by reading my works. I'm honestly speechless.  
> I wrote this as a thank you, I guess. I wanted to write something as a mark for when I reached this milestone, so of course I decided on some Marvel angst. I was craving Tony!dad and Peter!son because I'm always craving that, so this was the outcome. 
> 
> As always, I post updates about my ao3 on my twitter @sparklybuck !
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy it x

It had never quite dawned on Peter until the moment that MJ went into labour; 

He was going to be a  _ dad _ . 

He was going to be responsible for another human being, one that was  _ fully _ part of him, through and through, There would be no take-backs, no backing down, no reversing time. This was  _ happening. _ He was going to be an  _ actual father.  _

MJ  _ always _ looked calmer than him, even when she was draped in a hospital gown, hand pressed on her baby bump, breathing in and out heavily as another contraction hit her. Peter’s brow was slick with sweat, his heartbeat beyond the point of normal, the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck very much on edge. 

MJ slumped back down on the hospital bed, taking in one last shaky breath. Her brown eyes trailed over to her husband; the love of her life;  _ Spider-Man.  _

“Peter,” she let out, her voice calming him immediately. Peter shuffled forward in his chair and grabbed her hand in his, bringing her knuckles to his lips. MJ looked straight through him. “Go.” Peter’s head whipped upwards, his eyes meeting hers and his brows immediately furrowing. 

“No, I’m not--,”

_ “Go, _ you idiot.” She interrupted him, flashing him a steely look. 

No matter how hard Peter tried to hide something, MJ would always find a way to wriggle it out of him. Nothing had changed over the eleven years they’d been together. 

Nothing. 

And that was the problem--

Because it meant that  _ he _ still wasn’t here. 

“Are you sure--,”

“If you don’t leave this room right now, I will kill you.” MJ said, her face utterly serious. Peter stood up from his chair, lunging forward to press a chaste kiss upon MJ’s lips. 

“I love you,” he whispered, his eyes looking right into hers like she was the only thing that mattered in this world. “I’ll be back. I promise.”

“I know,” she replied, and all she did was wave him off like it was nothing, like it was  _ totally normal _ that her husband was leaving her bedside as she was very much in labour. 

Peter clicked shut the door to MJ’s room and took a breath. Was he really going to do this? Was this really about to happen? Strange had already agreed for him going back if he truly needed to in this moment, so it wasn’t like he was about to do something illegal. 

But still--

This was…  _ something. _

Peter’s bones rattled in his body as he swung, traversing building after building, until he reached 177a Bleecker Street. He dropped to the pavement, trying to slow down his heartbeat, before raising his knuckles to Strange’s large doors.

Strange opened to door before he could even knock. “It’s about time,” he said, opening the door and leaving Peter to let himself into the building. He tugged off his mask after the door boomed shut and followed Strange into the main room of the Sanctum. 

Strange levitated in mid air, pretentious as ever, his hands forming an odd triangle shape as his eyes bore right into Peter’s. 

“Are you sure you want to do this?” He said, his voice thick and incredibly unnerving. Peter waited a beat, his brain going into overdrive. He closed his eyes suddenly, his chest taking in deep, shaky breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. Inside his eyelids, all he saw was MJ, sat in that hospital alone, about to deliver their child into the world. 

And to MJ’s left, sat Tony Stark. He smiled at her, no doubt making a very badly timed joke as she experienced another contraction. 

Peter opened his eyes and glared right at Strange. 

“Yes.” There was no hesitation in his voice. Peter wanted;  _ needed _ ; to do this. 

Strange traced the Eye of Agamotto that draped around his neck. His positioned his fingers precisely and the locket opened, casting an extreme green glow over Peter. He closed his eyes. 

Ten years and four months ago, Tony Stark saved the whole world.

Ten years and four months ago, Tony Stark died right in front of Peter. 

Today, Peter would see Tony for the  _ last  _ time. 

\--

When Peter opened his eyes, the Sanctum was empty. He immediately looked at his phone; April 24th 2018. In a few days, the first of Thanos’ ships would land in New York. In a few days, he’d wipe half of the universe’s population off the map. 

Peter didn’t waste time. He shot through New York, headed for the Upstate Facility, making sure not to be spotted by his younger self, who was most likely roaming Queens or getting ready for his school trip to MOMA. 

Tony would obviously notice a difference; Peter was twenty eight years old. He wasn’t the same kid that Stark had helped mentor. Sure, he didn’t have grey hairs yet. He hadn’t grown a goatee while suffering a mid-twenties identity crisis.

But he’d changed.

He’d grown. 

The Avengers headquarters came into view, just as breathtaking as the first time Peter had ever laid his eyes upon it. He swung round the back of the facility, avoiding the security gate at the front, and made his way in through a secret back door that he’d discovered four years ago. 

He slipped his mask off, the sound of his pumping heart infiltrating his ears. His feet guided him around the dorm corridor, the main living room, the press room, until finally he reached the place he wanted--

Tony’s lab. 

The building was almost empty, what with Steve being away, as well as countless others after Berlin kept them apart. Peter knew Wanda and Vision wouldn’t be in, either. 

_ It was just Tony.  _

When  _ AC/DC _ hit his ears, Peter heart stopped. It boomed from behind the lab door, begging to get out to the rest of the compound. There was still something about going into Tony Stark’s lab that made Peter’s throat shut tight; his idol; his mentor; his  _ friend; _ the world’s own saviour. This was his playground, his space, where he invented something that changed the game every time. 

It was a privilege to have known Tony for that small amount of time, to have fought beside him, cried beside him--

Peter  _ missed _ him. 

He missed him so fucking much that not a day had gone by in ten years where he hadn’t thought about the billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. 

And right now he was stood behind a door that Tony was on the other side of.

For the last time in Peter’s life, he would get to see Tony Stark in his element. 

Peter took in a shaky breath, clicking his joints quickly, before pushing open the lab doors. The music filled his ears as he took in the familiar space. Tools were thrown across the room, as was debris of some failed attempt at another build, and in the middle-- Tony. Alive. Breathing. Days away from the beginning of a battle that would take his life. 

Peter cleared his throat, holding himself back against how much he just wanted to  _ hug _ the man in front of him. Tony perked up, turning off his welder and squeaking the mask up off his face. He turned then, his blue eyes not fully registering that it was this Peter,  _ older _ Peter, in front of him. 

_ “Kid? _ What the hell--  _ how _ did you get--,”

Within seconds, Peter’s arms were wrapped tightly around Tony’s torso, his eyes overflowing uncontrollably. Tony dropped the welder to the floor, his arms hovering in shock. When Peter didn’t let go, Tony furrowed his brows. “Kid-- what’s going on?” His voice was softer this time. 

Peter allowed himself to let go, wiping quickly at the tears that covered his face. They stared at each other, both in complete shock at what they were seeing. 

“Mr. Stark,” Peter let out, sniffing after each word. That’s when Tony clicked something was wrong. Stark took a step back, hitting his leg against his work bench, as his eyes scaling Peter’s form frantically. It was an overload to his brain; this was Peter, yes, but not his Peter.  _ His _ Peter was seventeen years old.  _ This _ Peter was--

_ Not that.  _

“You,” Stark began, pulling off his welding mask and throwing it to the floor, scrubbing at his eyes. “You’re--  _ old. _ You’re really  _ really _ old.” 

“I have an explanation,” Peter stuttered out. 

“Well, I’d  _ love _ to hear it.” Tony crossed his arms, his eyes furious. It was a look that Peter had seen countless times, but this time round it left a chasm in his stomach. “Start talking, kid. What the hell have you got yourself into this time, god forbid if you  _ invented _ time travel--,”

“You invented it, actually.” Tony stopped in his tracks. Peter initially wasn’t going to bother with a story. He was going to come here for one reason; to see his own father figure before he became a father himself. Strange had explained how there would be no issues with timelines, since he was going to wipe everything clean after Peter was back.

But here; now; there was nothing that Peter wanted to do more than to explain how goddamn amazing Tony Stark was to, none other than, Tony Stark himself. 

Peter puffed out his chest. “I’m here from the future.” He let out an immediate sigh. “That sounded so cliche.” 

“You’re being serious?” Tony replied, his eyes wide and eyebrows raised. Peter nodded. 

“I’m from almost eleven years in the future.”

_ “Eleven? _ You’re twenty fucking eight?” Tony clapped a hand over his mouth suddenly, before realising that Peter wasn’t a kid anymore. All Peter could do was smile. He was scared about what would tumble out of his mouth if he dared to speak. Tony gained back his composure before continuing. “So, what the hell are you doing here?” 

It made Peter laugh that anyone would accept the prospect of time-travel so quickly and without question. But time was running out-- the kid had thirty minutes in this time stream before Strange pulled him back, and almost half of it had already been used up. 

“I… came to talk.” Tony shot him a confused stare. 

_ “Okay. _ Sure, a talk. That’s cool.” He rambled, resting himself on his work desk. “What do you want to talk about?” 

_ So much. _ He wanted to talk about  _ so fucking much. _

He wanted to talk about how life was like without him, or Steve, or Natasha. He wanted to talk about university, or getting his first pHD, or his second or third. He wanted to talk about Spider-Man. He wanted to talk about May and Ned and MJ--

But he needed to talk about this. 

“I’m having a baby.” Peter let out, finally. “I’m… going to be a dad.” 

Tony didn’t say anything, but his eyes were screaming. He opened his mouth, then shut it, and rearranged himself on the desk. 

“You’re-- right. Yes. Okay.”

“I’m sorry, this must be so much to take in but--,”

“No, no. It’s  _ fine _ , kid--  _ Peter. _ It’s fine.” Tony waved his hand in the air, then brought it to his chin in thought, closing his eyes and breathing in through his nose. He snapped his eyes open. “So,  _ a dad?”  _

“Yeah. A dad.” 

Peter looked at the floor. Was this a bad idea? Was this too much, for both of them, to take? Tony had no idea what the hell was going on, obviously. And Peter himself--

His heart was aching so much worse than he thought it would be in this moment. 

But--

It was also the happiest it had been in a while. It was the happiest it had been since he’d kissed MJ for the first time after taking down Quentin Beck. It was the happiest it had been since MJ had said ‘I do’. It was the happiest it had been since she’d told him she was pregnant. 

“That’s…” Peter looked up when he heard the breath hitch in the back of Tony’s throat. His eyes widened when he saw that Tony had started to well up-- actually well up. Stark met Peter’s eyes, not seeming to care at all about the tears that were starting to curl down his face.  _ “...amazing, _ kid. That’s amazing.” 

That’s when Tony got up and approached Peter, placing his hands delicately on his shoulders. “You’ve really grown up, haven’t you?” He whispered, before embracing the kid in a hug that Peter hadn’t experienced since the battlefield. 

Tony was shaking. Peter could feel it. 

Even though this conversation was going to be wiped clean, Tony Stark as of now,  _ knew _ he was going to die in the next eleven years. He didn’t know when. He didn’t know how. But he  _ knew _ that he was going to be leaving this earth behind very soon. 

He knew that he was going to be leaving before Peter became a father. 

That was enough to reduce Ironman to tears. That was enough to fill his brain with overloading thoughts about how he wouldn’t get to see the kid grow up into the man he was right now, about how he wouldn’t be there to catch him if he ever fell again. 

Peter couldn’t stop himself from overflowing. He shoved his face into Tony’s shoulder and gripped him tighter, fingers pulling at Stark’s t-shirt until it felt like the fabric would rip. 

“I miss you.” He whispered, his words quivering as they tumbled out of his mouth. 

Tony said nothing to that, but held onto the kid with all of his might. 

“Your kid is gonna be  _ so _ lucky, Pete.” Peter sobbed as Tony’s words trickled into his mind. “Because they have  _ you _ , and you’re gonna be the best father they could have  _ ever _ asked for.” 

It was all too much. Peter pulled himself away from Tony, his hand immediately coming to cover his eyes. Tony smiled at the kid, his eyes glassy. 

Even now, there was some unspoken connection between Tony and Peter where each of them knew, they just  _ knew, _ they were more than just Spider-Man and Ironman;

_ They were family. _

No matter if Tony was dead, or if Peter was eleven years older; they were  _ family.  _

A different Tony hadn’t realised how much the kid had meant to him until he lost him in the snap. A different Tony hadn’t realised how much he’d missed the kid after he came back after those five long years. 

_ This _ Tony knew that, despite the inevitable shitstorm that was just around the corner, Peter had still come to him from the future. 

It was unspoken, because it didn’t need to be said. It was unspoken, because that’s just how Tony and Peter were with each other. It was  _ enough.  _

Peter’s suit beeped. He had two minutes until Strange pulled him back. Tony furrowed his brows. 

“Time to go?” He let out, his voice sounding a lot more coarse than it had before. Peter frowned at the ground. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to say goodbye for the second time. “Is she smart?” Tony asked suddenly, Peter whipped his head up. “Your girl. Your baby momma.” 

Peter couldn’t stop himself from smiling through the pain in his stomach. 

“Yes. She’s so goddamn smart. Smarter than me.” Tony let out a whistle. 

_ “Wow. _ She must be  _ pretty damn _ smart, then. I mean,  _ I _ taught you everything you know.” 

“Yeah, you did.” Peter croaked. Tony exhaled. 

Peter’s suit beeped again. One minute. This was it. 

Peter was trying to form the words in his mind to say goodbye. He was trying to make a coherent sentence to summarise everything, to say thank you, to say he missed him, to say the world hadn’t been the same since he left. But all that came to mind--

“See ya, Mr. Stark.” The last of Peter’s tears fell to the floor. 

“Have the best life, kid.” Tony smiled. That same green glow infiltrated the compound, and Peter snapped his eyes shut.

When he opened his eyes, Tony was gone. Forever. 

\--

“May,” MJ said tiredly, cradling the child in her arms. “I’ve always liked May.” Her forehead was slick with sweat, her eyes sunken into her skull, but smiling radiantly. Peter’s glassy eyes trailed over the both; his wife and his daughter. “But it’s missing something, don’t you think?” MJ whispered. 

May Anthony Parker. Peter and MJ’s daughter.

“She’s perfect.” Peter whispered, placing a peck on MJ’s lips. 

“How was he?” She asked, her eyes kind and careful. Peter let out an amused chuff. 

“He was-- Tony. He was Tony.” Peter smiled. “You guys would have got on so well.” MJ let out a small chuckle. May yawned serenely in MJ’s arms. 

“We’re parents.” MJ said. “Who the hell would have ever thought  _ we’d _ be parents?” 

It was perfect. It was all entirely perfect. Seeing MJ holding May in her arms. Knowing that, outside in the hospital waiting room, May, Ned, Happy, Pepper and Morgan would be waiting for them to emerge; tired, emotional,  _ parents.  _

Peter wouldn’t deny how sad he was. He wouldn’t deny the Tony Stark sized hole in his heart. But, he would move on. He would live his life the way that Tony would want him too. Recklessly, carefully, full of love and hate and more love, being as good of a father that Tony had been to Morgan. 

Tony Stark was gone--

But he’d never be forgotten. 

Not by the world. 

Not by his family. 

And certainly not by Peter Parker. 


End file.
